Seaside to consider extending negotiations with Monterey Downs

The Seaside City Council on Thursday will consider opening the planning window wider for the Monterey Downs project.

The council will be asked to approve an 18-month extension on exclusive negotiating rights with Monterey Downs LLC, the developer of the proposed 550-acre project on Fort Ord that includes homes, two hotels, a horse racetrack and the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery site.

The project, which has become a lightning rod for two competing land-use initiatives being circulated, is being processed by Seaside though most part of the property is in Monterey County territory.

The developer entered into an exclusive negotiating deal with the city in September 2010 that would expire in June. City staff members are recommending extending the agreement until December 2014.

A council report also contains a new schedule for processing the project application and environmental impact report. The current schedule, according to the report:

· A draft-specific plan will be released by the end of May, and the developer says a complete tentative map application will be filed in June.

· The developer is slated to submit a fiscal and economic impact plan by the end of May, which the city will submit for peer review.

· A draft EIR will be released for public review in August and a final EIR should be ready by December.

· Hearings before the City Council on the project plan and EIR are forecast for early 2014. If the city approves the project, then Seaside would ask the Local Agency Formation Commission to annex the county territory.

So far, the report says the developer has paid $231,537 to the city to cover processing costs with about $69,000 more in costs that either haven't been billed or are not overdue.

On another development project, the council will consider approving an exclusive negotiating agreement with Seasons Management LLC, which wants to develop a senior living and care community on 3.5acres of city land at Light Fighter Drive and Gen. Jim Moore Boulevard.

The Oregon company laid out plans for the 100-bed center to the council in April. It would have 80 assisted-living units and 20 memory-care units.

The agreement is for a year with an eight-month extension, and the developer must deposit $25,000 to start reimbursing the city for project review costs.